The Promise of a Lifetime
by Lady Mizune
Summary: This story is set after the ending of the original FMA series, not brotherhood. if you haven't watched it then this story will make no sense at all. There is a better summary inside but I warn you that it contains spoilers. Its all about Ed's adventure after the ending of the anime and him trying to find his way back. Will he ever be able to keep the promise he made to Al? EdxOC
1. Chapter 1

**The Promise of a Lifetime**

**Warning:** This story (mostly just the summary) does contain spoilers to the end of the (original) Fullmetal Alchemist series. If you have not watched the original series then I suggest you do before reading this.

**Summary:** It takes place right after the very end of the first series (not brotherhood). If you don't remember the ending or don't feel like watching here is just a small re-cap. At the end of the story Ed is killed by the Homunculus Envy and in a rash attempt Al tries to save him. Being that he was now the Philosophers stone he was able to bring him back, with his original body parts and all. Ed lost it when he found out his little brother had sacrificed himself to save him, so he went back to The Gate to try and bring him back. All in all they ended up being on opposite sides of The Gate, Al with Winry and the others, Ed with his father in London during WWI. Anyway, this story starts out a few weeks after that happened, Ed is still trying to find a way back to his brother and along the way he finds someone that might be of some help; seeing that she is also from his side of The Gate. Whether or not she decides to help him is another thing, but then again equivalent exchange tells her that if she does, he may be able to help her in return.

**A/N:** I know exactly how anime brotherhood goes because ive read most of the manga, however I have not actually seen brotherhood. The ending of the original anime kinda made me a little upset so I decided to continue the story my way. I really hope you guys enjoy!

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**Chapter 1**

"Are you sure it's safe for a young lady such as yourself to be traveling to the city alone?" You could see the concern in the old man's eyes as he passed me the train ticket underneath the glass window. Truth was I had been traveling by myself for a few years now and nothing really scares me much anymore. I grabbed the ticket and smiled softly at him reassuring him that I would no doubt be fine alone. "What about all the air raids that have been happening? The city is being leveled as we speak…" He trailed off with obvious tears filling his eyes. He probably has family there, or did at one time. Without saying anything in return I headed towards the train just as the whistled called for last minute boarding. Sure the war going on was scary, but I don't fear death. If you had seen what I have you would be the exact same way.

The train was mostly empty; only one other man joined me in the car. Though I could hardly call him a man, he couldn't have been any older than me. Something about him caught my attention; it threw me off guard in a way, As if I had seen him before. I struggled to lift my heavy bag over my head and set it on the rack above the seat. I wanted to sit right across from him, not to be creepy or anything, just to see if my suspicions were correct. The train suddenly started to move before I could successfully place my bag as it and I went tumbling to the ground. My bag popped open on impact and all my things scattered about the train's floor. The man quickly jumped up from his seat and started to help me pick things up. Then it caught my eye, inbetween the white glove on his right arm and his sleeve... it was… 'Automail...' I whispered to myself in shock.

"What did you just say?" His golden brown eyes met mine with the same wide expression, his blonde hair wrapped perfectly around his small pale face.

"N-nothing!" I snapped out of it quickly, wrestling with the rest of my clothes and notebooks to get them back into my large wooden suitcase. Before I was able to finish he closed it for me and set it above my seat with ease. I don't see how that was possible though, he's only like a few inches taller than me. Not to mention that damn bag weighs a freaking ton. My eyes continued to wander over at him through the entire train ride. Could he really have an arm made of automail, here in London? I gripped at my right leg through my long purple dress, it too was automail; A secret that I've kept for years now.

"Is there something I can help you with?" His head rolled along the back of the seat to look at me, his long blonde braid resting on his shoulder. My face flushed, was it really that obvious that I had been watching him?

"No... It's just… I just never got to thank you properly for helping me pick up my things."

"Don't worry about it." He smiled softly.

"I guess it's a good thing you're a bit taller than me."

"What, you thought I'd be too short to reach that damn rack?" His eyes narrowed and there was a slight bark in his voice.

"N-no that's not what I meant at all I swear!" He just huffed and went back to looking out the window. Jeez, he's way too sensitive about his size. It's not like being short is a bad thing… I'm really short too you know.

As the train came to a stop at London's central station I got up out of my seat and waved goodbye to the small blonde man. We hadn't really spoken anymore since he yelled at me, but I still made sure to be polite and say goodbye. I didn't even manage to get his name, but it would be foolish to get back on the train for a silly thing like that, chances are I won't ever see him again anyway. I sighed to myself, watching him from the platform as the train took off, he watched me too from the window. Although we had only just met I feel like I know him.

London had changed a lot since I had been away on call, of course the war would be to blame for that. I was one of the few doctors left in this city; the rest had gone off with the soldiers. I can't wait for this stupid war to be over, you never know what's going to happen next, when the next bombs are going to fall, or if it's your house that will be destroyed next. Everywhere you look is just chaos; those that haven't fled the city had been reduced to rioting and looting. The businesses that are still here have raised their prices so much that's all you really can do is steal, just to get by. This city has gone to hell, that's all there really is to it.

I made my way up the large steps to my office; it was one of the few buildings left open on my block. Up against my office was a tailor shop run by a woman named Margot, she fled to the country side with her husband and four children. Same goes for the owner of the barber shop to the left of my office. I took a deep breath before entering my small building; it wasn't really much to look at. A couple beds for the sick lined the room to the right, and to the left was my office. Not that many people come here for my help, but then again would you trust a sixteen year old that claims to be a doctor? Didn't think so. Though I do have people from time to time that trust only me for their medical needs, most of them have fled the city though.

I walked into my office and set my large wooden suitcase on my desk. I started to reach for the claps the sealed it shut but stopped myself before opening it. Then there was a sudden knock on my front door. Something inside me jumped at the knocking, causing my heart to skip a few beats as I dashed happily for it. To my surprise though it was the military, but if I didn't open the door there would be hell to pay. That and I would much prefer them not breaking down my door. "What do you want?" I scoffed, opening the door only but a small crack. The taller of the two men spoke first, as if I would be scared of him for his size.

"Good evening ma'am," He started with his fist to his mouth as he cleared his throat. "As you well know, the city has become a rather dangerous place. We suspect another oncoming air raid scheduled for tomorrow morning. To keep the civilian casualties to a minimum, we ask that you pack all of your important belongs and be on the next available train to the country side."

"And if I refuse to leave my home?"

"Need I remind you the situation at hand?" the smaller of the two men stepped in. His voice wasn't as deep as the other man's, but still annoying all the same.

"No, look around you! It's obviously a war; everyone is either dead or going to die! Who are you to tell anyone where they are allowed to do so, huh?"

"Stubborn little…"

"Be out by morning." The larger one cut in, his voice deeper than before. Before I let my anger get the better of me I slammed my door shut and took a deep breath. If they think I'm going to leave just because of a stupid little air raid they're sadly mistaken; that's what bomb shelters are for. The damn military here is just a bunch of bloody idiots, we're already loosing and they need to stop acting like they're trying hard when they're not. I walked down the long hallway towards the back of my small building where my kitchen was. Opening up the fridge my stomach let out a small growl at the lack of food. I need to stop slacking on my chores, I don't even remember the last time I went grocery shopping. Not that I could afford it anyway with this damn war going on. A rather large sigh escaped my lips as I feel back onto the counter, leaning on it for support. If I remember correctly I think I spent the last of my money on those damn train tickets…

I made my way across the hallway yet again towards the bathroom; it was the door straight across from the kitchen. This was originally meant to be a house, that's why it's so damn small. I leaned over the sink with one hand gripped tightly on either side of the large white bowl and just stood there staring at my pale reflection. I still look just like a child; I let out another heavy sigh as I examined my still small facial features. My large baby blue eyes made their way around my face, taking in every inch from my long light brown hair to my small little freckles under my eyes. I took my glasses off and tossed them onto the sink behind the faucet before turning it on and splashing my face a little bit. I wish I could escape from this damn city, escape and be with you again Enya. Thoughts of my little sister began to fill my head and a few tears fell from my eyes; but I quickly washed them away. I promised I would be strong, and I'm trying, I just wish it wasn't taking so long to get back to you… After I finished washing my face I grabbed blindly for the white towel I always keep on the rack by the sink.

Another knock at my door broke me away from my thoughts and I quickly reached for my glasses before heading down the hallway. I fumbled for a minute with the lock and chains on the door before opening it. I was expecting another military monkey to come stomping by like they always seemed to do, but instead it was a small child. Her small brown eyes were filled with water as she gripped at her little pink dress. She was covered in dirt and soot from head to toe, like she had been digging around in the ashes of a building. Even her soft blonde hair had almost been transformed into a different color. "Penelope, is that you?" I crouched down to meet her at eye level. Penelope and her widowed mother, Lina had been regular patients of mine since before the war began. I helped Lina deliver her baby two years ago when no one would take her in. Some people in this city can be so cruel over a little bit of money.

"Lady Madeline, I can't find my mommy..." She wiped away her sobs with the back of her small arm, only dirtying her face more.

"When was the last time you saw your mommy?" I licked the pad of my thumb and swiped it across some of the dirt on her cheek.

"Before last night's air raid… She told me to leave and go hide in the bomb shelter behind the neighbors' house. She said it was okay 'cuz they left and wouldn't need it. Then she said she would join me shortly but there was something she had to do, mommy said it was real important… Then… then when I woke up this morning mommy wasn't there, and the house wasn't neither…" A few more sobs escaped from her but before I could say anything she started again. "Lady Madeline… i-is my mommy dead? I looked and I looked all morning but I couldn't find her…" Her words were becoming more difficult to understand with her rapid breathing and heavy sobs. I quickly wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in, trying not to cry myself. Chances are it was true; more than likely her mother was killed in the air raid. I rubbed my hand up and down her back to try and sooth the crying, but it was useless, nothing could make her feel any better.

After bringing her inside and cleaning her up, Penelope was soon fast asleep in one of the four patient beds. She tossed and turned every now and again and cried out for her mom, but I couldn't bring myself to wake her up. The best course of action would be to take her to the train station and get her out of the city. With all the parents that have lost their children in this pointless war I'm sure someone would have no problem taking care of her. Such a cruel world we live in. I shut off the small light beside her bed and walked out of the room; closing the door quietly behind me. I walked across the hallway into my office and opened my large wooden suitcase. After shuffling through it a bit I pulled out a clean light blue dress, similar to the purple one I have on. I pulled the now dirt covered dress up over my head and tossed it onto the floor before putting on the clean one. Note to self, never embrace a child that's covered in dirt, doing laundry then becomes a bigger pain in the ass. I walked over to the small green couch underneath the window and flopped down with a big sigh, this was turning out to be one hell of a day.

I woke up rather harshly as the setting sun shined straight into my eyes through the window. Just how long was I asleep? I got up quickly remembering that I needed to get little Penelope on that train before the scheduled air raid. I hurried across the hall towards the patient room and opened the door. She was still fast asleep tossing and turning with tears in the corner of her eyes. I scooped the small child up into my arms and carried her back into my office where I grabbed my purse. "Lady Madeline, where are we going?" Hearing me fumble with the locks on the door must have woken her up.

"Were heading to the train station," I smiled down at her with the best fake smile I could muster up.

"Why are we going there?"

"Because the city is being evacuated to the countryside…" I set her down on the ground and grabbed hold of her small hand.

"But if we go there then we can't find mommy…" she looked up at me with tear filled brown eyes. I had to look away quickly.

"What do you mean..? " I took a deep breath and put forth another fake smile. "Your mommy is there waiting for you as we speak, Penelope." It broke my heart to lie to her, but this was probably the only way I could get her to leave. This city is no place for a child anymore.

"Really?" Her face quickly lit up with joy. "Then we got to hurry!" She pulled me into a half run as we made our way through the city towards the station.

The station was overly crowded with people and everywhere you look tears were in almost everyone's eyes. I didn't even know there were this many people left in the city, this was ridiculous. We pushed our way through the crowd and over towards the ticket booth. The man behind the counter looked like this was last place he wanted to be right now, he would probably be leaving as soon as he could anyway. "What can I do for you miss?" He let out a heave sigh and rested his chin on the back of his hand.

"I need a ticket for the next train to the countryside." I smiled at him, trying to put forth my best act for a discount; god knows I only have enough for about a half a ticket.

"That'll be sixty marks…" Sixty marks? Is this guy freaking insane? That's beyond ridiculous for a damn train ticket! We're the ones forced to leave the city, it should be way less!

"Can you take twenty?" I pleaded, trying to form a tear or two out of the corners of my eye. Jerks like this always fall for a woman in distress. "You see, I don't have very much money and the tickets for my daughter, she's only six and can't stay here. Can't a big, strong, handsome man such as yourself make an exception, just this once? Please?" I managed to squeeze a few tears out of my eyes as I pushed my arms together to make a bigger cleavage at the top of my dress. His face flustered up a bit as his eyes went straight for my chest, what a pig...

"S-sure thing, honey..." He pushed a ticket underneath the window with a big dumb smile across his face. "If you ever need any comfort from the war, be sure to look me up okay, sweetheart?" He winked.

"Thank you so much!" I fake giggled a little and then walked off. What a pig, god I swear men are so stupid. As if I would ever waste my time with a big, stupid oaf like that. I can only imagine what he meant by comfort... With that thought a small shiver went down my spine. Ugh, pig.

"Lady Madeline, why did you only get one ticket? Aren't you coming with me?"

"I wish I could..." I stopped her right before the door to the train and crouched down to her to be at eye level. "Don't worry about me, Penelope, I'll be just fine. I need you to be really brave for me and get on that train by yourself, okay? Think you can do that?" She nodded. "Don't talk to anyone you don't know, and don't get out of your seat for any reason unless it's your stop, okay?"

"But how do I know what stop is mine?"

"You're stop is the very last one, it's going to be a very long train ride." She needs to be as far away from the city as she can.

"And mommy will be there waiting for me?"

"Yes, she will…" I lied and pulled her in for another hug.

It took all I had to look strong and not cry with her as the train left the platform. She waved to me out of one of the windows along with all the other children that were leaving their families behind. As soon as the train was gone I made my way back home, focusing mostly on the orange sky. I really hope she doesn't hate me when she gets off the train to find out her mother isn't there… I'm sure she will be okay, I myself have never actually been far enough to reach the last stop so I really have no idea what to expect. With all the people that have left, I'm sure the last stop was the majority of their destinations. I would leave with them if I could, but all of my work is here and I can't leave it behind. Not if I ever want to be with my sister Enya again. Not when I'm so close…

I made it back to my building to find someone sitting on the steps in front of my door. I paused a minute and looked him over before he realized I was there. His golden brown eyes looked up at me and we just paused there for a moment, just staring at each other. It was the guy from the train, the one with the automail arm, but how did he find me? "So we meet again," I smiled softly as if nothing was bothering me. "What brings you all the way to city during an evacuation?" I walked over closer to him.

"Just returning something you left on the train." He held up one of my brown leather notebooks in his hand, a slight uneasy expression across his face.

"Oh wow, I can't believe I didn't even check to make sure I had everything before I got off the train. Sometimes I swear!" I reached out to grab the notebook from him. "Thank you so much for returning it to me."

"It's no problem; I figured it was pretty important." He shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal, but something about the way he was acting made me think otherwise. I really hope he didn't read it.

"Yeah, it is, thank you…" I smiled again, a bit more hesitant. "Say, I never did catch your name."

"It's Edward." He stood up and stepped down onto the sidewalk.

"I'm Madeline; it was nice to meet you, again." I bowed my head at him slightly as I walked passed him towards my front door.

"Say, Madeline, what do you use that notebook for?" His question stopped me dead in my tracks.

"W-what?" I turned my head around to look at him but he was still staring off in another direction. "I-it's just a medical notebook, y-you see I'm a doctor." I hesitated; and my grip on the book grew tighter.

"I'm not quite sure what language that book is in…" He turned around to face me, his brow narrowed into a frown. "But if it's a 'medical' notebook, then why does it have transmutation circles in it?" My eyes widened, I had no idea what to say next. I knew his arm was automail, but he knows about alchemy too?

"I-im not s-sure what you're talking about!" I laughed hesitantly and rubbed the back of my head

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." He snapped, but before I could reply the air raid siren began to go off. Our attention was directed almost immediately to the sky.

"The siren already? The air raid wasn't scheduled until tomorrow morning!"

"Who the hell schedules an air raid? As if they would come out and tell you what time they're gunna come bomb you! That's just absurd." We looked back at each other, as if we were searching each other's faces for the right answers. I bit down on my lower lip debating on what to do next. This guy knows my secret, how do I even know I can trust him? Then again I just can't leave him out here when the city is about to be leveled.

"Can I trust you..?" I stumbled on the words, as if he would actually come out and tell me.

"What?"

"Can I trust you, Edward?" I felt my stomach go in knots. Whether I was doing the right thing or not, something just felt like it was suppose to happen.

"I don't know…" he seemed just about as unsure about me as I was of him, but I couldn't waste anymore time.

"Come with me, I have a bomb shelter." I hurried over towards him and grabbed his left arm, pulling him up the steps and into my house. Without letting go of his hand, the one that obviously wasn't automail, I quickly locked my door up and pulled him into my office. I grabbed my wooden suitcase of the desk and handed it to him. He didn't ask any questions and took it. I yanked up the large rug in the center of the floor to reveal a trap door leading to the basement. I signaled him to climb down the ladder first then followed quickly behind him, making sure I locked the hatch. Not that locking the doors would stop a bomb from blowing up my house or anything.

"So, Madeline, if you didn't know what I was talking about, then what the hell is all of this?" He pointed to one of the walls that were covered in different transmutation circles. My basement was the only place where I could study and be safe. No one here in London knows anything about alchemy.

"That's why I asked if I could trust you…" I sighed and sat down on the floor against one of the walls. What had I gotten myself into…?

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**Please review and tell me what you think! c:**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Well here is chapter two, hope you enjoy! Just as a warning, towards the  
end of the chapter there is a bit of a different language. To make the story a  
little more authentic to the period, Ed and Madeline meet up with a couple of German  
soldiers. I don't actually speak German myself, so I used Google translate to  
help me out. I did, however, put right next to it what they were actually  
saying so you don't get confused. If you do by chance speak German, and the  
translation I put isn't correct don't blame me, blame Google! All I wanted to  
do was make it look cool! xD

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**Chapter 2**

We sat there quietly along the concrete walls, unable to really get a conversation going. He stopped asking all the annoying questions about my basement after I refused to answer them. Every now and again a gasp would escape our lips when the walls around us shook violently. The light against the ceiling never had a chance to sit still; it was constantly swinging back and forth. It had been going on for what seemed like hours now, longer than any of the previous air raids. They had meant business this time; that was obvious. As many bombs as I had sat here enduring, I still couldn't keep myself from cowering in fear. Was my house going to be next? Would this shelter hold out? Would Edward and I both be blown to bits? I curled my knees in and gripped them tightly to my chest, fighting back the multiple urges to cry. The last thing I wanted to do was look weak in front of him, to be the typical teenage female and cry out when things got scary. No, that wasn't me, and it never will be. "Are you alright?" Edward finally spoke after the long awkward silence between us. He never looked over at me though; he kept his eyes fixed on the walls and the floor. As if he was trying so hard to understand all the words and circles on the ground.

"I'm alright…" The words were muffled against my knees. "I'm use to this sort of thing; all you can do is just wait." I half lied, sure I was use to it but that never changed how I felt about it. He looked over at me for a minute, his golden eyes searching my face for the truth. I couldn't help but look away quickly. It looked as if he cared so much about how I was feeling, but couldn't put it to words.

"What do you think the city will look like after they leave?" He rested his head back against the concrete wall and looked up at the swinging light.

"The city will be leveled, there's no doubt about it… They've never kept going this long." I tightened the grip on my knees almost to the point where it hurt. It was mostly only painful for my right hand against my automail. "There's no point in being optimistic about it."

"You never know…"

"It's only a matter of time…" I stood up and took a deep breath. "But if you want me to look on the bright side, then at least I can say that we're still alive, right?"

"Yeah..." He didn't look very happy about it though.

"I'm ready to answer _some_ of questions." I lied, but I was ready to do anything to get my mind of the inevitable. He just looked up at me as I approached him, a bit a relief swiped over his face.

"Maybe you should specify what you mean by 'some' before I start asking questions."

"Okay, I'll make this a bit easier I guess. How about I tell you a bit about myself?"

"That works," his eyes never left mine.

"Well you already know my name, so I guess I can start with where I…" My sentence was cut short with a loud explosion from what I could tell was right next to my building. It caused me to scream out in fear as the light on the ceiling when crashing to the ground. All you could see was complete darkness, if you held your hand out right in front of your eyes you wouldn't even know it was there. Then before I could even get a hold of my breathing or reach out for Ed in comfort, another bomb struck. This time it was right on top of us. It sent supports from the ceiling crashing down on top of us. I feel straight into the concrete with a blood curdling scream that would make anyone stop in their tracks.

"Madeline, where are you?" I could hardly hear Ed call out to me through all the explosions. It was if they sent bomb after bomb hurdling down on my small building. I was pinned down to the ground by several pounds of wood and brick from my house. The only light that was present was a large fire shining in from the broken wooden hatch that we came through earlier. I could still hear Ed calling out my name as he dug through the rubble. I wanted so much to call back to him, but I was so afraid that no sound would come out. The only thing I could think to do was kick my automail leg against the concrete wall and hope that he could hear it. Then, as if like clockwork; another bomb struck overhead, causing more and more rubble to pile up in my basement.

"Edward!" I screamed as loud as my lungs could bare, tears pouring from my eyes. I'm not going to die here!

"I got you, don't worry!" I felt a bit of the weight ease of my stomach as I was pulled out from under the rubble by my feet, the concrete scraping harshly against my back. He then picked me up into his arms, one behind my waist; the other held one of my hands. Then as if for just a second, time seemed to stand still. His face was covered in dirt and he had a small cut over his left eye that bled out over the side of his face. "Are you okay?" he set me down on top of the debris and held his arms out beside me to make sure I could stand. He didn't stand there waiting for me to answer either; he just grabbed one of my hands and pulled me up the large pile of collapsed ceiling. It was a direct path back up into my house, or what use to be my house that is.

All you could see was a dark sky, lit only by the fire engulfing the now leveled city. The buildings were now all flat, they left absolutely nothing standing. I griped at my chest with my free hand and we just stood there, looking. It was absolutely devastating, even though I knew this was going to be the outcome, nothing could ever prepare you for the real thing. To think of all those people left in this city just like me. How many of them were still alive? How many of them, like me, were trapped underneath of their own houses? My stomach started to turn and I bent over forward, squeezing my eyes shut tightly to keep the tears from escaping. Then it hit me, all my notebooks were left down in the basement. All my hard work and dedication, I had to go back. I pulled free of his grasp and walked back over towards where the floor had caved in. With every step the floor around me creaked as if it was ready to collapse again.

"What are you doing?" he looked at me as if I was going crazy.

"All my alchemy notebooks are down there, I have to get them!"

"Are you insane? Just leave them; we need to get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving without them!" I started to walk down the broken wooden planks but suddenly slipped. Luckily Edward was there, right on queue to catch my wrist before I was sent tumbling into the basement.

"You're going to get yourself killed over a bunch of stupid books." He looked down at me and shook his head.

"They're not stupid! It took me years to get all that information down in those books…"

"If you wrote them once you can do it again, now stop acting like a child and let's go." He pulled my back up to my feet and continued on through the shattered remains of my building.

I could hardly look around me as we made our way through the city. Blood stained the sidewalks, holes filled the roads, and all the buildings were crumbled and set ablaze. Every now and again you would come across a body, but not all of the pieces were there. Edward continued to hold my wrist, as if I was some sort of child that needed to be on a leash. Although it was rather annoying, it helped me keep up with him so I could stare at my feet and not pay attention to what was around me. You could still hear the zeppelins flying overhead as well, but what more could they possibly want? What more could they possibly take from the people living here?

We decided to head towards the train station and follow along the tracks to make our way out of the city. With all the fire and smoke you could hardly tell what direction you were going in, so we figured that would be the best course of action. The closer we got to the station though, the more bodies that filled the streets. Some of the faces I recognized from earlier when I was at the station, some of them were almost completely unrecognizable. Men, women, children, all charred and mangled; some even dismembered. It was enough to make even the strongest men get sick, but none of it seemed to bother Ed much. Then again maybe he was just putting on a front. Then Edward suddenly stopped and I looked up. There was just a huge crater in the ground from where the train stations use to be. The only way you could tell it was the station was from a set of tracks coming from the large hole. He let go of my arm and let out a heavy sigh as he rubbed the side of his face.

"It would probably be best if we just went around it…" I took a deep breath and started to make my way around the far side of the crater. Without really saying much else he followed along behind me.

"Your right leg…" He sounded a bit confused and I looked down. My dress on the right side was ripped slightly and I had lost my shoe. It's hard to tell a thing like that when you have no feeling.

"Yeah, it's exactly what you're thinking." I shrugged my shoulders, not looking back at him. Even though I've only known him for a few hours I suppose we've been through enough to at least tell him that much. "It's exactly like your right arm…"

"You know about my arm…?"

"I saw it on the train, when you helped me pick up my things."

"So, how is it that you have automail in a place like this?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Ed."

"I guess so, but I asked first..."

"What kind of childish logic is that?" I couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"Who are you calling a child?" He barked.

"I didn't call you a child, calm down!" I started to laugh a bit more, but he didn't seem too amused. "Besides, even if I did call you a child I wouldn't be lying."

"I'm not a child!"

"Sure you are! I mean just look at you, you're like a size of a small seventh grader!"

"Don't call me short!" I looked back at him and his face was completely red with anger, which of course was hilarious.

"But you _are_ short!" I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Look who's talking, shrimp!"

"Runt!"

"Pipsqueak!"

"Stop calling me short!" He started to shout, but all I could do was laugh. Who was he trying to fool? He wasn't scary at all.

"And if I don't?"

"If you don't I'm gunna wipe that god damn smile of your face!"

"Oooh, scary!" I mocked, pouting out my lower lip.

"Oh, real mature…" He folded his arms across his chest and looked out in a different direction. He's one to talk about being mature. After getting in another laugh I looked back in front of me, but what I saw made me stop dead in my tracks; causing Ed to walk straight into me. The scene in front of me was more than gruesome. A train had derailed and crashed, all of the cars were scatted about and laying on their sides. Half of the train, including the engine, was on fire. More bodies were lying lifeless on the ground, soaked in blood. "Penelope…" I manage to choke out her name. This was the train she was on…

"What's wrong, Madeline?" I just ignored him and ran as fast as I could towards the wreckage.

"Penelope!" I called to her as I approached the first car and popped my head in through one of the broken windows. I had to quickly take my head out though, the site in there was almost enough to make me puke.

"What are you doing?" He caught up to me and followed behind me to the next train car. Again I called out to Penelope, but got no response. "Are you looking for someone?"

"Penelope, she was on this train…" After not seeing her in the second car I made my way to the next one. Then, I found her; she was hanging half out of one of the windows. "It's going to be okay, Penelope, I'm going to get you out of there!" I let out a sigh of relief and grabbed onto one of her arms. "Ed, I need you help…" But he was already right by my side, grabbing onto her other arm. I took a deep breath and we both pulled her out of the window. My eyes widened and I took a large gasp of air before falling onto my back. We had pulled her out of the train, but poor Penelope was only a torso and the side of the train was bathed in her blood. Edward pushed her body back into the train car and hurried over to my side. "This is all my fault…" The words cut my throat like glass on the way out as tears fell rapidly from my eyes.

"No it's not…" He knelt down beside me.

"Penelope!" I screamed her name until all the oxygen escaped from my lungs. Then I leaned forward and gripped onto the front of Ed's jacket, burying my tear soaked face into his shirt.

The next thing I know I was waking up in his arms. He had a rather serious look on his face, but when he noticed I was awake it seemed to almost vanish. "Are you feeling better?" Guessing by his question; that obviously wasn't a dream. I jumped down from his arms and rubbed at my burning eyes. Pictures of Penelope's body raced through my mind and I tried to shake them free. If I would have just kept her with me, if only I hadn't lied to her and put her on that train… I clenched my fists tightly down by my side and my whole body tensed. She trusted me... I felt a few more tears escape my eyes and I quickly wiped them away with the back of my arm. Then my body loosened up when Ed's hand rested reassuringly on my shoulder. "Still think it's your fault?"

"Of course it's my fault; I put her on that train…"

"Were you the one that derailed it? Were you the one that set fire to it?" I gasped at his questions and turned to face him. Ed's eyes were so intense, like what I said made him sick. "Like I said, it's not your fault." I couldn't help but smile a little bit. He had a point though, if it weren't for that damn war in the first place poor Penelope would be home safe with her mother.

"Thanks, Ed…" I took a deep breath and replaced the memories of her body to ones of her when she was younger, and happy.

After about an hour or so of walking along the baron tracks we came across the crash site of a zeppelin. It took a little bit of convincing Ed to come check it out with me, but eventually he gave in. something about it was unusual though, all the other ones I've ever seen that have crash landed, were all but blown to bits. This one was different, it was if it landed here on purpose, but why would it do that? Edward didn't seem very interested in it, but I was. He offered to stand watch outside while I went in for a closer look. The big balloon that was on top was deflated, and it seemed more or less deserted. You could almost hear the muffled sound of a radio on the inside, but I had no idea what language that was.

"Sei dort, was machst du?"(You there, what are you doing?) I heard a deep male voice coming from behind me and my head shot around to face him. He was obviously a soldier, but not from this country. "Ich werde nicht noch einmal fragen, was machst du?" (I'm not going to ask again, what are you doing?)

"W-what…?" Then it finally struck me when he pulled out a gun and pointed it straight at my face.

"Du bist nicht schlecht aussehende madchen, vielleicht werde ich dich leben lassen nachdem alle!" (You're not a bad looking girl, maybe I'll let you live after all!) He laughed loudly and lowered his gun a bit.

"What the hell are you saying?" I started to get a little angry at him. If he was going to kill me, why hasn't he done it already?

"Ich fand ein madchen hier herumschleichen unserer luftschiff!" (I found a girl over here sneaking around our zeppelin!) He yelled at me again, it was like he didn't realize we didn't speak the same language.

"Ich fand einen kerl hier, sollte ich ihn einfach toten?" (I found a guy over here, should I just kill him?) Another man called back. Oh no, Ed…

"Ja ihn zu toten!" (Yeah, kill him!) After that a few gun shots were fired.

"Ed!" I called to him, trying to run back to where I had left him. The guy that was with me grabbed my wrist and pulled me back just before I could.

"Wo denkst du wirst du?" (Where do you think you're going?) He pulled me into him and wrapped his arm around my waist from behind.

"Get your damn hands off me!" I struggled to get myself free but he just laughed and tightened his grip. I managed to get my finger up next to my face and bit into it until it started to bleed. Then I drew a small transmutation circle on the palm of my hand out of the blood. It wasn't a very complicated one, so I wasn't sure how effective it would be, but I had to do something. Especially considering alchemy here is damn near impossible. I took the hand with the bloody transmutation circle on it and slammed it into his face, and with a large flash of light I managed to freeze a small bit of his face. When he realized what had happened he managed to let out a muffled scream and then released me. Without hesitation I spun around and lifted my automail leg high up, connecting with the frozen portion of his face as it came around. That small part of his face shattered and fell onto the ground; exposing the cracked bone of his skill underneath. It didn't kill him instantly, but he wouldn't survive after the amount of blood he'll lose from that wound. I wiped my bloody hand off on my skirt and turned around to go meet up with Edward.

"Y-you just transmuted…" As soon as I turned around he was standing there, staring, and his eyes were wide with confusion.

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**A/N:** If I let any errors slip through I'm really sorry, I rushed through it  
when I reread to check for errors. That and it's almost three in the morning. I  
was just really excited to get the chapter finished and put up. If you do come  
across some errors please let me know so I can fix them!

**Again, please review and tell me what you think! c: **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Just as a warning, there is going to be some sexual content in this chapter, but not anything too serious. Ed doesn't really make much of an appearance in this chapter either, you'll see why. Hopefully you'll get a better feel of the type of character Madeline is. Don't worry, I made sure to explain a little bit of how she was able to transmute in the last chapter, but the rest is still a bit of a mystery. If you're still wondering about her past and how she got to the other side of the gate, it will be explained eventually! On that note, thank you so much for all the people that are supporting my story and helping it along, you guys are awesome!

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**Chapter 3**

I sat in the small restaurant for a while, just sitting there and twirling my fork around the table. I made it to this small civilization after about two days of wandering on my own. It was seemingly untouched by any of the madness that struck London, but it was believable. I had lived in London for about three years and I never knew about this town. There were maybe sixteen or seventeen houses and a couple of small businesses, although it was obvious there were more people here now than before. The woman who owned this restaurant stopped bothering me for what I wanted after the first twenty or so times I ignored her. I couldn't help it, even though I hadn't eaten in a while, I had all but lost my appetite. I picked up my fork and gripped it tightly in my hand, my thumb pressed against the end as if trying to bend it. My thoughts kept flashing back to that night at the zeppelin, the night Ed left to go on his own…

_"You've been testing your alchemy on people? You're sick!" _

_ "It's not how you think it is!" I reached out to him, only to have him slap my hand away. His eyes were filled with rage and no matter what I said he just wouldn't listen to me._

_ "Oh it isn't? Please, enlighten me how you've made things so much better by using innocent people as your lab rats? Don't you think the people here have been through enough without your help?"_

_ "I'm telling you it's not like that, if you would just listen to me!"_

_ "I don't even want to know how you did it anymore, just shut up! If that's the cost of using alchemy in this world then I'll find another way, without your help!" He turned around and stormed off, back towards the tracks._

_ "Wait, Ed, come back!" I was getting so frustrated I almost couldn't see straight through the tears. I called out to him a few more times but he never looked back._

I shook my head from the thoughts before I made myself angrier, only to see a woman standing in front of my table with a strange look on her face. She was looking down at my hand that was now bleeding from clenching the fork so hard. The only thing I could think to do was just get up and leave. If he would have just listened to me, I wouldn't be in this mess. After all my studying, all my research, and I'll the information I brought over here with me; I have never found another way to perform alchemy in this world. This type of alchemy can only be preformed between one person, and another person. So far the only way I can seem to get it to work is by using my blood to draw circles on my hands and arms, but the blood circle has to come in contact with the other person's skin. Sure, I may have used my theory out on other people and some animals, and sure, maybe I lied about being a doctor too. Does that really make me a bad person? Okay, so maybe it does…

My thoughts were broken away by a rather large stomach growl and the smell of something truly amazing. I may my way across the cobblestone streets through the heavy rain and thunder filled skies. It smelled like a cake, or maybe some pie, hell I didn't really care what it was; I was starving. There was a small bakery a couple of buildings down from the restaurant. It looked like a run-down brick building from the outside, but the inside was actually rather nice and well kept. I peeked in through the window and watched as the old man placed a few steaming loaves of bread into a brown paper bag. Then my stomach let out another embarrassing growl, as if my stomach knew that I had no money for food. I would have had a little bit, but I left my purse in the basement of my house. I gripped at my stomach and let out a rather heavy sigh as I lowered myself against the building to sit in the mud. No matter what I did the day just seemed to get worse and worse.

"Do you not have a place to stay, miss?" I looked up to see a man wearing a rather nice suit standing in front of me. He was holding an umbrella above me and smiling so kindly. That's when I noticed how handsome he actually was, which made my face fluster a little. I shook my head at his question and he held his glove covered hand out to help me up off the ground. In a time like this, why would anybody be wearing such nice clothes? The dress I was wearing cost me a lot as it was and look at it! It's ripped to hell, dirty, it probably smells terrible; that and I already lost a shoe. "So what's your name?" I looked up at him, but his long brown hair covered the side of his face so I couldn't see his expression. I kind of have this really good talent of reading people's facial expressions.

"Madeline," I folded my arms tightly across my chest and rubbed my arms as a shiver went down my spine.

"I'm Alexander, but you can just call me Alex. I run the Inn here with my father and it just so happens we have an extra room." He looked down at me and smiled when his eyes met mine.

"Oh, I don't have any money…" I bit my lip nervously and my gaze lowered toward the ground.

"Pretty girl like you? I'm sure we can make an exception." He wrapped his arm over my shoulders to pull me closer to him. Something was off about this guy, sure he dressed nice and looked nice, and yeah he was giving me a free room too. For what reason though, what does he get out of all this? Even here in this place, nobody gets anything for free.

"That's really kind of you, but…"

"Here we are!" He interrupted and took his arm off my shoulder. This building was defiantly out of place. While the other's looked a bit old and run down, this one was beautiful. The red bricks looked brand new, the columns on the porch all looked hand crafted; it was truly a beautiful building. "What's wrong?" his gaze lowered to meet the uneasy expression on my face.

"Nothing," I shook my head. "It's just a really nice place."

"Thank you, my grandfather built it."

"He has quite the eye for craftsmanship."

"Yeah well, it looks better on the inside." He laughed lightly and set the wet umbrella down in the metal tin by on the porch. "Ladies first," he smiled brightly and pulled the large wooden door open, holding it for me as I walked in. He was right; the inside was truly remarkable; nicer than any other Inn I've ever stayed in. There was a small reception area that had a few nice leather couches that sat underneath a huge chandelier. On the other side there was a rather large carpeted staircase that twisted upwards to a huge hallway; I could only assume that's where the rooms were. Alex laughed at me when he saw my face; I was so busy looking around that I didn't notice my mouth was gaping open. The one thing that did happen to catch my attention though, there was nobody around.

"It's beautiful…" I truly felt out of place here.

"I'm glad you like it," he reached for my hand and pulled me towards the stairs. "Your room is this way." We walked up the large steps and my room was the fifth door, practically at the end of the hallway. He grabbed a large key out of his pocket and unlocked the door, holding it open for me yet again. The rooms were equally astonishing, though they were kind of small. This particular room didn't even have a window, which I also thought was strange. It had a large bed with white sheets in the left corner against the wall, at the foot of the bed was a trunk and beside the bed there was a rather fancy oak dresser. There was a door directly to the right that led to a bathroom, it had a simple white tub along the wall, and the toilet and sick were along opposite sides of the tub. "Well what do you think?"

"Are you sure I can stay here…?" I looked back at him innocently, trying to search his face for answers. There was something wrong with this entire situation and I could feel it with every fiber of my being. Then there was another part of me that didn't care, I was cold, hungry, and way tired. So I decided to just go with it.

"It's no problem trust me." He reached up to push some of my wet hair behind my ear and left his hand on my cheek, which flustered under the touch. "Just relax and enjoy your stay, I'll try to find you some fresh clothes." With that said he let go of my face and left the room. I walked into the bathroom and sat on the edge of the tub as I turned it on. Top priority right now is to get clean; if I could smell myself then someone else could too. I reached my hand down to plug up the drain when the water was just the perfect temperature. I peeled my soaked dress off my skin and yanked it up over my head before throwing it onto the floor. Then I kicked my brown shoe off on top of it. Sitting back down on the edge of the tub I had to make sure I got in carefully; don't want to rust my automail. Not that my leg didn't need a ton of maintenance anyway. I laid back against the edge of the tub with my leg propped up over the edge; luckily my automail stops at my knee. The water felt amazing, hot enough to sooth and relax the muscles, but not enough to burn the skin.

I awoke quickly with a knock on the door to my room. The bath was so relaxing I had actually fallen asleep. Carefully I picked myself up out of the tub and grabbed for one of the plush white towels that hung on the sink. "Be right there," I called back after the second set of knocks came, struggling to get my towel wrapped securely around me. I would have slipped and fallen flat on my face if it wasn't for my auromail. I made sure to only open the door enough to stick my face out of; being in a towel is rather unbecoming for a female.

"I found you some clothes; they're my little sisters so I hope they fit." Alex gave another one of his charming smiles from the doorway. He was carrying a pile of clothes, shoes, and something in a metal container that smelled like food. I opened the door to let him in but still hid behind it.

"Thank you, that's very thoughtful of you."

"I brought you some food too; my father's a pretty good cook so I hope you like it." He turned around and his eyes were immediately on me. He stood there for a second, staring at my half naked body, his face flustered red. Then he quickly left the room, slamming the door a bit before leaving. Without thinking much of it I walked over to the bed to see what clothes he managed scrounge up for me. I moved the metal container aside and lifted up the clothes. It was a dark purple top with almost no sleeves, a pair of black pants that had more than enough pockets, a long black coat that looked like it should go over a dress, and a pair a bulky black boots. What the hell kind of clothing is this? Doesn't she have like a dress or something, I don't know… normal? I don't even remember the last time I wore... pants. I stood in front of the large mirror on the back of the door and twirled around a few times. I looked absolutely ridiculous, but at least they fit. I looked like I was going to go out and assassinate someone, or like I was dressing up to rob a bank. Definitely not what a proper lady such as myself would wear.

After eating the soup Alex brought for me and playing around in the mirror with my new cloths I just lay down in the bed and stared at the ceiling. All I could really do was think about Ed… What he was up to, what he was doing, was he thinking about me? I rolled over and curled up in a small ball. Yeah right, I was the last thing he was thinking about I'm sure. The look on his face right before we went our separate ways continued to play through my mind. _"You make me sick!" _his voice echoed through the empty room. He may have been my only hope of getting back home too… I could feel a couple of tears slip through my tightly clenched eyes. If he knew what I was going through, how desperate I was… He would do the same thing if he lost his little sister…

Another knock at the door broke me away from my thoughts and I quickly wiped away the tears. Does that guy know anything about what privacy is? I managed to lug myself out of bed with a heavy sigh as I made my way toward the door. You'll never guess who was on the other side, just the guy I wanted interrupting me… not. "Good the clothes fit!" he smiled cheerfully.

"Yeah, I guess…" I lifted up my arms and gave my new clothes a once over with my nose half scrunched.

"Something wrong with them?" He managed to barge himself into my room.

"No, your sister just has strange taste," for lack of better words that is.

"She makes them herself, she's into some sketchy things but I never poke my nose into it."

"Was there something I can help you with?" I flopped down on the bed questioning his audacity to just barge into my room.

"Nothing really, just came to make sure everything was alright." He leaned back against the door handle as he closed it with a rather strange click. "How was the soup? It's my father's specialty."

"It was really good, you were right about your father being a good cook." He didn't say anything back to me after that, he just kind of stared at me strangely with one of his hands in his pockets. Then after a deep sigh he pulled a shiny metallic object out of his pocket and pointed the barrel of it straight towards me. It was a pocket revolver, small, but powerful none the less. His hand was trembling slightly, as if it took all the courage he had to point that thing at me.

"What are you going to do, rob me? You know I don't have any money…"

"Take your clothes off!" He had a rather sadistic grin on his face. So now he shows his true colors, I knew nothing ever comes for free. He must have brought me here, looking like Mr. Good Guy, all with intent to get lucky. What a pig.

"You know you should never pull a gun on someone unless you intent to fire it." I calmly stood up from the bed and took the bulky jacket off, throwing it onto the floor.

"You think I won't hesitate to fire it?" his crazy smirk grew larger as his finger pullet the lever on the back, making a small clicking noise. I can't tell if this guy is insane, or just really needs more action in his life.

"You know that's no way to get with a woman right?"

"Look, I don't want to hear your crap right now, just hurry up and undress!" He waved the gun back and forth as if trying to give more emphasis. Then it hit me, the only way to get that damn gun from him would be just play along. I took a heavy sigh as I reached for the end of my shirt to pull it up over my head. He eyed me up and down a few times before stopping at my bare chest. Then like a pig he licked his lips, lowering the gun a few inches. This was going to be easier than I thought.

"You know, if you wanted this earlier, all you had to do was say so." I said in a slightly seductive tone, trailing my hands along my stomach and up past my breasts.

"Keep going…" He demanded, but I refused to lower myself further to this disgusting man. Instead I slowly made my way over to him, pushing his arm out towards the side. I got mere inches away from his face before wrapping my right hand around his head and grabbing tight onto his long brown hair. Then my lips met his with enough force to knock him back against the door. I quickly bit his bottom lip, keeping sure that his tongue remains inside his own mouth. Then, just according to my plan; he set the gun down on top of the dresser and picked me up by my bottom, holding my waist tightly to him with one hand, and squeezing fiercely with the other. I removed my lips from his and trailed my tongue down the line of his jaw towards his neck where I gave him a rather nasty bite. "Oh… feisty, I like that…" His words were almost enough to make me puke right then and there, but I had to keep my cool. Especially since my plan was working so well. I quickly brought my lips back to his and slid my hands underneath of shirt, lifting it up ever so slightly. He then turned me around and slammed me up against the dresser before hesitantly setting me on top of it. My lips never left his as he reached down to undo the button on his pants. I made sure to keep a firm grip on his hair with my right hand as I was reaching for the gun with my other hand. Then, just as he leaned back in, all he met next was the barrel of the small revolver against his bare stomach.

"Back the hell up, _now_!" I hissed, jumping down from the dresser as he inched away. I quickly gathered all the saliva I could and spit on the floor next to his feet, my glare never leaving him.

"W-what just..."

"Shut up, you don't get to talk anymore, understand?" He nodded and I reached over to grab the purple shirt off of the floor. "I told you; never pull a gun on someone unless you intend to use it."

"B-but you…"

"I said shut up, and I swear if you move an inch while I'm putting this shirt on; I'm gunna blow your god damn head off." He swallowed hard and just stood there with his hands above his head. I made sure to put my hand with the gun in it through the shirt first, that way if he did move, well you know the rest.

"P-please don't kill me…" His voice was cracked a little with his trembling.

"You got a wallet?" I reached down to pick up my new jacket, still not pointing the gun away from him.

"Y-yeah, I got a wallet…"

"Not anymore you don't, hand it over."

"Y-you're going to rob me?"

"Not going to, am. Now give me the damn wallet." His hands shook as he reached down into his back pocket and handed me the wallet. It was a small, brown leather wallet that seemed to match the vest over his white button down shirt. I snatched it from him and rummaged through it, throwing out everything I didn't need. He had a rather hefty sum of cash on him, about two or three hundred marks to be exact. I slid the wallet into one of the many pockets on the pants and threw the jacket on, making sure to point the gun immediately back at him. "Thanks for the room, the food, the wallet, and this fancy gun; but I think I'll be leaving now." I smiled slightly at him and opened the door to the room.

"You're going to leave, just like that?" He put his arms down and took a sigh of relief.

"Oh yeah, remember what I said about pointing a gun on someone?"

"Yeah…" With that I pointed the barrel down at his right foot and pulled the trigger. The gun snapped back with a loud bang and Alex screamed; like, well like he'd been shot.

"That's for pulling a god damn gun on me!" I stuffed the gun into the front of my pants and made my leave, listening as he shouted behind me. A few people opened the doors to their rooms with a gasp, but I mostly just ignored them and continued on my way. The only thing left on my mind was finding Ed and nothing was going to get in my way until I did. He had to know I wasn't the bad person he thought I was. I took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh; that is going to be no easy task…

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**A/n: **A special thanks to likikoari for her wonderful help and support! She's like a FMA genius, I swear she knows more about it than the creators themselves~ She helps me out with all my questions and ideas when I'm at a lost for putting them into words. So pretty much without her this chapter wouldn't really be what it was. I'm not telling what parts though, because her information belongs solely to her. Thanks again luv!

**Please review and tell me what you think, you're opinions are really important to me c:**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:**For all of you wonderful people that were looking forward to this next chapter, I'm so sorry for my tardiness! Usually I'm really good and updating a new chapter once a day. Especially since I have the first six chapters finished. Well, actually, there just a small paragraph in a notebook that have to be written. Still, it usually doesn't take me this long! I do have an excuse though! I recently had a really important event happen in my life and I have been up to my ass in all of that. I meant to have this chapter up days ago, but I was so freaking tired I didn't get to it until now. So here it is, I stayed up until 4am because you guys mean so much to me! So, even though it's shorter than it was originally going to be, I hope that you enjoy it anyway! With this chapter I wanted to give you a little insight to Madeline's past and how she is where she is. All while still following my general storyline. If you find any errors I'm sorry, like I said, It's 4 am. x.x

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**Chapter 4**

Riding in a car was a lot different than taking the train. I leaned the side of my forehead against the window, struggling to keep my eyes open. I'm not even sure how much time had passed since I left the hotel with that psychopath. Time seems to just run together these days. I had been looking for Edward ever since I left, with no avail. I don't even remember the last time I had a good night's rest. I couldn't help it though; the longer it's been since I've seen Ed, the more I worry about him. I mean, I'm sure he can take care of himself and all, there's just something in the pit of my stomach that's telling me something else. Another large yawn escaped my lips as I watched intently out the window at everything that passed us by. Empty fields, small farm houses, and the occasional tank to remind you that you really aren't as safe as you think you are.

Right before I was about to fall asleep, something caught my eye off in the distance. It was a blonde haired girl holding hands with a small child. She was walking along the fence carrying a basket of what seemed like freshly picked vegetables. Something about her seemed so familiar, even though all I could see was the back of her. I watched them intently until we caught up on them. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped slightly when I was able to catch a look at her face.

"Stop the car!" I shouted into the front seat at the man that had been driving me around all this time.

"What?" He looked into the review mirror at me, a puzzled look in his eyes.

"I said stop the bloody car!" My head was sent forward into the passenger seat as he slammed on the brakes. Before he was able to come to a complete stop though, I had already opened the door and jumped out. A large smile was fixed across my lips when I caught another glimpse of the girl. "Enya!" My eyes almost welled up as I wrapped my arms around the blonde girl's neck. Her body tensed up immediately under my embrace and she could only mumble out a couple of inaudible things. I let go of her and wiped away the small water that was building up in the corner of my eye. "It really is you, isn't it?"

"I beg your pardon…?" Her brows narrowed into a confused scowl.

"Mommy, that girl looks just like you!" The little boy she was holding hands with tugged on her arm.

"I'm sorry, have we met somewhere before?" she yanked the little boy behind her to keep him quiet.

"Enya, don't be silly! It's me, Madeline, your sister…" I couldn't tell if she was playing a joke on me or what. I have no idea how my sister made it here, but I certainly wasn't one to complain.

"I don't… have a sister…" Her eyes moved all around my face in confusion. My sister Enya and I are identical twins. We look exactly the same for the most part; the only really noticeable differences are hair color and eye color. Enya was blessed with beautiful long blonde hair and ravishing green eyes.

"Have you honestly forgotten who I am?" She just nodded. "You must be joking? Were sisters..."A loud bump in the street woke me up as my head was sent smashing back down into the window. I had been having the same dream of her ever since I ran into her yesterday. That girl, she looked exactly like my little sister Enya, but she had no idea who I was. She thought I was crazy…

My sister Enya and I were born in the town of Rush Valley sixteen years ago. We lived there with our father and two cats. Our mother died almost immediately after giving birth to us, sending our father into the start of his downward spiral. They had originally moved to the city so my dad could start his automail business, and of course what better place to be then there. It's my father's fault that I'm in this position in the first place. That's why it's so important to me to get back, so I can protect my little sister from that disgusting man. He had always blamed us for our mother's death, punishing us whenever he could. When my sister and I were about four years old he started to get into alchemy. He tried every chance he could to perfect it down to a T. He had even started using us for some of his more dangerous techniques, human transmutations. That man was desperate enough to try anything, just to bring back our mother. The first major experiment was when we were just six years old, when he took my leg from me. I clenched my fists tightly and scraped my teeth together as my mind played back the events of that night.

_"Sister, I'm scared…" Enya whispered to me. She was standing in front of my bed in her small pink dress, her stuffed blue bunny clutched in her arms. I sat up and scooted back in my bed, allowing her to climb in if she needed to. "Daddy locked himself in his room again…" She wiped a tear from her face with the back of the bunny's head._

_ "Don't let it bother you too much, Enya, he just really misses mommy."_

_ "But Maddy, He's doing really strange things in there… What if something bad happens to him?"_

_ "Nothing's going to happen to…" But before I could finish my sentence to door to my room slammed open. He was standing in the doorway; a slightly deranged look glimmered in his eyes. He made his way across my small room and crouched down beside the bed next to Enya. He examined us both over for a second before putting his hands on Enya's shoulders._

_ "Enya, sweetheart, will you come help daddy with some of his work?" _

_ "I don't know, daddy, what kind of…"_

_ "Daddy, Enya isn't feeling good." I interrupted, a rather large knot welling up in my stomach. "I'll help you though." I quickly hopped out of bed and slid my glasses on._

_ "But, Maddy..." She grabbed onto my small purple dress as if trying to stop me. We had the exact same feeling about what was going to happen next, but even then, no one was going to hurt my sister._

_ "Excellent," He grabbed my small hand and walked me out of my room. We were never usually allowed to go in his room unless he said otherwise, so nothing really prepared me for the sight. There were strange circles and papers scattered all over the walls and ceiling. His bed was sideways and against the wall to make room for one really gigantic assortment of shapes that filled up almost the entire floor._

_ "Daddy, what is all this?"_

_ "You're going to help me with a little experiment, Madeline." He pushed me into a small X in the center of all the drawings._

_ "What kind of experiment?"_

_ "We're going to bring mommy back, isn't that great?"_

_ "But how, daddy? Mommy is dead…"_

_ "I know that, but we're going to bring her back!"_

_ "How are you going to do that?"_

_ "Just stop talking so I can concentrate!" I flinched when his loud voice cut through my ears. He then crouched down to one side of all the strange drawings and spoke a few words. The shapes began to glow and flash, then the room suddenly turned into a strange white abyss. _

_ "Daddy?" I frantically looked all around for him, but there was no one else there. "Daddy!" I shouted as loud as my small lungs would let me, but I never received an answer. As soon as I went to turn around again, a strange door appeared out of nowhere. I approached the strange door, letting my curiosity get the better of me. When I was close enough to the door it opened, strange pictures and words began to fly into my head. It was an information overload. Things I had never seen before, things I didn't understand, and things that made no sense; all flying at me at once. Until it all just randomly stopped. I fell back onto my bottom and took a deep breath, trying to process everything that I just saw._

_ "Madeline…" Hearing my name called faintly caused me to look back up at the open door. A blurred figured stood in the doorway and called to me a few more times. Then before I was able to decipher who it was calling to me, several black arms reached out for me. They grabbed onto my right leg, as if trying to pull me through the door with that strange voice. I screamed and cried with all my might, struggling to get free of the tiny arms. Then before I knew it, I was back in my father's room. He was clutching me in his arms, apologizing over and over again. There was a horrible pain in my right leg, but when I tried to lift it up to see why it hurt so bad, nothing happened._

I may have lost my leg that day, but I gained a vast knowledge of alchemy. It wasn't until six years later that he had the balls to try that again. He didn't just take my leg that time, he took everything from me. I swear to god, if I ever get back across that damn gate I'm going to kill him. I let out a big sigh and reached up to rub the side of my face. Key word: if… I've been here for four years and I'm not a single step closer to seeing my sister again. I know that if I can just find Ed, we can help each other get back home. Even that was turning out to be more difficult than I thought it would be. How far could he have possibly gotten anyway?

I was forced to continue on foot when the driver found out I didn't have enough money to pay him. Lucky for me though, the next town was only but a short walk away. It was a lot larger than the other town I had been to, a lot more people were here as well. It was more or a less a trash hole though. It was as if all the riff-raff and criminals that escaped from London ended up here. The one thing I wanted to do first was find some better clothing with the money I hid from the driver. These clothes are comfortable and all, I'm just sick of all the strange looks I get from people. Even now, as I walk around this dead-beat town, people still look at me as if I had a bomb strapped to my back. It's so unbelievably annoying.

In the center of town was a fairly good sized market. There were a few produce stands, a couple stores, and even a decently sized pub. Most importantly though, was the clothing shop, which was actually pretty big. It was if I had found another place untouched by the war. I walked into the clothing shop and was greeting by the old lady that seemed to run the place. The store was pretty big, they had what seemed to be clothing for everyone; men, woman, children. I walked over to the rack with all the pretty dresses and looked through them. Out of the corner of my eye the old woman was watching me. The amount of people in here shopping and she has to go out of her way to watch me? Or maybe I'm just thinking too much into it. I pulled a really fancy lavender dress from the rack and walked over to the mirror. I held the dress in front of me and turned from side to side. It looked like it would fit, and it was really pretty; but could I actually afford it?

"Did you find something you liked?" The old woman approached me, eyeing me with the dress up and down.

"Maybe, but I'm not quite sure…" I folded the dress over my arm and let out a sigh. I looked over at her and she had her arms up in the air with a bit of a scared look on her face. "Is something…"

"T-take whatever you want…" Her eyes were fixed on my belt and I looked down to see what her problem was. The handle of the small revolver was hanging partially out of my pants. Great, the old bat thinks' I'm going to rob her.

"You know what, never mind." I set the dress down on the small table next to the mirror and walked out of the store. Do I really look like the type of person that would rob and old woman? I mean seriously, who does that crap? The gun is for my protection and mine alone. It only has two bullets left in it anyway, why the hell would I waste it on someone that isn't even attacking me? I swear, this damn war has everyone terrified over stupid things. If you want to be scared of something, you should have been with me when the damn bombs dropped on my house. I walked over to the pub and a small bell chimed as I entered through the door. Already I could tell that I was the odd man out, or woman I should say. Considering the fact that I was a sixteen year old girl, and this pub was filled with men almost in their forties. I made sure to sit all the way at the other side of the bar so that I didn't draw attention to myself.

"Aren't you a little young to be in here?" the man behind the bar walked over to me, cleaning some glasses with a rag.

"I'm a lot older than I look…" I shot him a rather nasty look and folded my arms across my chest. Of course I was lying, I'm exactly as old as I look, but he didn't need to know that.

"Pardon my rudeness then, ma'am" He set the glass down on the counter behind him and handed me a small menu and drink list. This would be the perfect opportunity to get my first taste of alcohol, but I just couldn't bring myself to lie to him any further. It was as if he already knew better, but wanted to be nice; and I wasn't one to abuse someone's kindness.

"I'll just have a glass of water and some soup, if that's all right." I handed the menu back to him and rested my arms on the counter.

"No problem, miss." He set a glass on the counter and filled it up with a small silver pitcher before walking through a door that seemed to lead to the kitchen. I took a deep breath and slammed the now empty glass back onto the counter. I guess I was a bit thirstier then I had thought.

After I finished my soup and paid the man I left the pub. Not sure exactly where I should be going next or what to do. I wandered around the small town trying to come up with a course of action. As far as I could tell, Edward wasn't here, which was really starting to become a pain in the ass. It was as if he had disappeared off the face of the earth. Part of me was willing to give up the search already and be on my way, but another part of me wasn't. I didn't know which part to listen to. Would I ever be able to forgive myself for giving up? A sudden bit of shouting coming from an alley way I had passed captured my attention. Mostly because it was in a different language, similar to the one I had heard from the two soldiers those few nights ago. My first instinct was to run away in fear of repeating what happened, but of course my curiosity got the better of me and I made my way towards the shouting. I was sure to keep my distance and stay mostly hidden around a corner, just in case they didn't want any company.

Of course with my luck, I wasn't able to hide for very long. One big sneeze later and I'm running for my life. I don't even know what the hell they think I heard, but I can't even speak their damn language! Still, I'm running for my life from a group a guys twice my size, through a town I don't even want to be in. The shit I get myself into it, I swear. Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, my automail locks up on me, sending my crashing down into the dirt. The last thing I remember were a pair of hands on my shoulder and a something bashing me in the back of my head before everything went black.

I woke in a dark room, the scent of must and mold filled the air. After my eyes had a bit of time to adjust I noticed it was more of a prison cell then a room. A musty, damp, quiet, and more than likely rat infested prison cell. What a mighty fine mess I've gotten myself into this time. I picked myself up off the concrete floor and made my way around the cell, taking in every possible escape route. Of course there was none. The only exit I could find from this damn thing was a large wooden door with bars in the middle of a small window. I looked out through the bars to see what was out there, but it was more or less pointless. It was so freaking dark down here there could be a party going on out there and I would never know. I tried yanking on the door handle and kicking it with my automail, but it was no use. If they hadn't taken my gun from me I could have used that.

"I thought everyone else had been killed…" A faint but rather familiar male voice came from outside the room.

"Are you talking to me?" A stupid question, but something made me ask anyway.

"Well, obviously…" I knew that, jerk! From there I just ignored him and went back to slamming my automail against the door. "If you're trying to get out it's pointless, I've literally tried everything."

"You say that," I paused for a tired few gasps of air, "but I seriously doubt you've tried this."

"Well, to me it sounds like you're slamming metal against the door. So, yes, I have tried that."

"Yeah, well I doubt you're as stubborn as I am!" Not that being stubborn is a good quality to have; it does help in situations like this. Which in fact, did pay off. I grabbed at the now broken handle and yanked it out of the door, bringing the door with it. The room outside was just a long dark hallway that had a bunch of doors that looked just like the one I came through. The only light that filled the room were coming from a few candles at each end of the long hallway. "I'm out, now where are you?"

"How the hell did you manage to get out? Do you have any idea how long I've been stuck in here?" I laughed a little bit at his frustration. Sure, I felt bad for him for being stuck here too, but it wasn't as hard to break out as he made it sound.

"Stop whining and tell me what room you're in!"

"How the hell am I supposed to know what room I'm in?"

"I don't know; stick your hand out of the damn window or something!" Of course it didn't strike me that I couldn't see until after I had already said that.

"There, can you see me?"

"No…"

"Then what the hell?"

"Shut up I'm thinking!" I started to run my hand along the doors on the left side of the room first, hoping that I would be able to feel his hand when I came across it.

"Would you keep your damn voice down, they will hear you."

"Sorry, I get loud when I'm nervous…" After making it to the end of the hallway I started along the other side of the room, only to find out he was right in front of me the whole damn time. "Stand back…" I gave him a few seconds before kicking away at the door with all the strength in my leg. After a few moments the door swung open. My eyes met a pair of golden brown ones. At first they were filled with relief, and then filled with anger and disgust. There was no doubt in my mind at that point; I knew exactly who that was through the darkness.

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**Please review and tell me what you think c: I love you all, in the wierdest possible way you can think of...**


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